Minors Set Altar on Fire
Two Children, one of them a 12-year-old boy, set a fire to the Serbian Orthodox Church of Our Lady in Feldkirch causing considerable damage. After searching the unlocked donation boxes for cash, they set the cloth at the altar in the back of the church on fire endangering liturgical objects.
According to officials in the Vorarlberg region, the resulting fire spread to the carpeted floor and the wooden structure underneath. Irretrievable artefacts and relics were also stored on the altar table, which could have been destroyed by the fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire and ventilated the church. The property damage is estimated of over 20,000 euros.
Sources: Allgäuer Zeitung, ORF, Heute
Image: Kosov-online